Improvement in bridges



GLM/ER HN. PERRY & wlLLlAM H. ALLEN'.

Improvement in Bridges.

No. 120,319. Padtentedom. 24,1871.

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UNITED STATES rrroE.

PATEN OLIVER H. PERRY AND WILLIAM H. ALLEN, OF BELOIT, VISGONSIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRIDGES.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 120,319, dated October 24, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, OLIVER H. PERRY and WILLIAM H. ALLEN, both of Beloit, Rock county, in the State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bridges, of which the following is a specification:

Our invention relates to bow-string bridges in which the arch-rods are composed of sections which abut against each other in the direction of their length; and the said invention consists in utilizin g the clamps by which the said arched rods are connected to the brace-rods, so as to form the couplings and seats for the adjacent ends of the arch-rods, and thereby dispense with separate or telescopic couplings for that purpose.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved bridge-arch. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical crosssection of the same 5 and Fig. 4, a detached view of one ofthe shoes.

A in the drawing represents the shoes of an arch, connected to each other by means of horizontal supporting-rods B. which pass through the shoes at each end of the arch, and are held by 'screw-nuts or in any other suitable manner. The arch proper is formed by sections of rods C starting from the shoes A, in which they have' suitable bearings formed by openings a in the inclined face a of the shoes. These sections C abut against each other and are firmly held between clamps formed in three parts-upper parts D, intermediate parts E, and lower ones F-the intermediate ones being used only when we form the arch of a double set of sections C, one above the other. These parts D E F are provided on their proper faces with semicircular groovesthe grooves of each two contiguous parts forming one complete bearing for the rods of that section C. These parts D E F are firmly held to each other and in place by means of tension-rods G H, which pass through these parts and are provided With screw-threads and nuts g h above and below these parts. These tension-rods extend downwardly, the rods G vertically, and the rods H diagonally, and pass through parts I and J of clamps similar to the parts D F of the archclamps, and, like those, provided with grooves, in which the rods B are held; and these tensionrods are also held in these lower clamps I J by means of nuts c' j. The number of the lower clamps may be less than that ot' the upper ones, and two or more tension-rods, G H, may connect one lower clamp with several upper ones, as clearly shown in the drawing. The arch-rod sections (l need not touch each other in thc upper clamps, but a small space may be lelt between them, so as to allow for a lengthwise expansion or contraction caused by the changes ot' the atmosphere, or for alengthwise movement caused by the depression of the arch through a severe strain. The rods C may be hollow or solid, and if hollow may be filled with water, sand, or any other suitable substance to prevent their collapsing.

Abridge constructed according to our improvement is as strong' as any other bridge, while it is much more elastic in resisting strain. It can be easily manufactured, and by reason of its being constructed in comparatively small parts can be easily packed and sent to its destination, for the sections oi' rods C, being ofirregular len gth, allow of its bein g made shorter or longer to correspond to the rods B by using shorter or longer sections.

Ve are aware that bridge-girders have been made of hollow chordsin sections,so as to telescope with each other, and that the hollow chords have been supported by braces passing through them and saddles, the embracing saddles serving only to prevent the hollow chords from being crushed by the screw-nuts of the brace-rods and we do not claim saddles when applied to protect hollow beams, nor making the chords of bridges in sec tions.

Having described our invention, what we claim 1s The coupling clampingseats D, E, and F, arranged to receive and support the adjacent ends of the arched rods G, and form a connection for the brace-rods, thus dispensing with separate or tubular couplings for this purpose, as shown and described. Y

OLIVER H. PERRY. WILLIAM H.A ALLEN.

Witnesses:

R. TATTERsHALL, 

